Rocket
Rocket is an altered chimpanzee who was the Alpha at the San Bruno Primate Shelter before and during Caesar's time at the shelter. He was a typical bully until Caesar outsmarted him and took his place as Alpha. Settling their differences aside, the two became the most unlikely of allies. During the Ape Rebellion, Caesar tasks Rocket as one of his head lieutenants. After ten years, the two are still best friends and Rocket is still one of Caesar's closest companions. He plays a big part in the Ape Council and the Ape Army as he is Caesar's second-in-command. He is also the husband of Tinker, and the father of the late Ash. History Rise of the Planet of the Apes Bullying Caesar Rocket was the dominant male at the San Bruno Primate Shelter which is where the newcomer Chimpanzee Caesar is forced to live after he attacks his next door neighbor Douglas Hunsiker. In Caesar's early days at the shelter, Rocket treated him harshly and quickly established dominance over him even when Caesar attempted to be friendly with the arrogant alpha, their encounter ended with both being tranquilized by Dodge Landon. After this Rocket continued to be a bully to Caesar and not ever showing him any mercy or pity as time went on for the chimpanzee. Being Overthrown This treatment doesn't last very long, as tired of being picked on, Caesar decided to use his above average intelligence to outsmart the alpha and planned to take his place. Caesar lured Rocket into the play den and hit him with a metal gasoline canister but did no more to harm to him clearly establishing he was the rightful alpha. Rocket is somewhat reluctant to step down when seeing his followers watching but is forced to acknowledge Caesar as his successor thanks to the recently released inmate, Buck the gorilla, whose very presence terrified rocket into submitting to Caesar. Now without power Rocket slowly began to sulk in his cell as the newcomer Caesar took power and was seen as the new alpha of the shelter. New Respect Caesar would then make peace with Rocket by giving him a bag of stolen cookies and though tempted to eat them all Rocket instead decided to feed the other apes as a way to bring the apes together. This act made Rocket realized there was nothing to gain from being cruel for no reason and caused him to find newfound respect for Caesar and acknowledge him as the true alpha of the shelter. Liberation When Caesar unleashes the ALZ-113 virus on the sleeping apes, Rocket becomes infected and gains a higher boost of intelligence. Caesar then turned against the shelter's tormentor Dodge Landon and begins to open many of the ape's cells to release his brethren before stopping at Rocket's. A tense moment is born, until Caesar decides to free Rocket who would then point out the remaining caretaker Rodney who was being beaten by the freed apes until they were stopped by Caesar. Rocket would then become one of Caesar's loyal companions and would escape from the San Bruno Primate Shelter with Caesar and the others as they head for the outskirts of the city. Caesar divides his forces into groups with Rocket accompanying Caesar and Maurice's forces to Gen Sys Labs while Buck and his forces are ordered to free the apes at the San Francisco Zoo to add more numbers to their people's cause. Battle At Golden Gate Bridge He later aids Caesar in finding a trolley which they used to travel to the Golden Gate Bridge. On the bridge, Caesar commands Rocket to lead a group of chimpanzees to help launch a direct attack on the police officers bridge and await his command. While Caesar orders the rest of the chimpanzees to go up the high wires of the bridge and attack from above as Maurice and his new orangutan forces take the bridge from underneath. Rocket also served as one of the leaders of the battle by standing at Caesar's side while he waited for the humans to unleash their attack. The next time, Rocket is seen in the forest with Maurice (and possibly Cornelia) when Caesar is saying his final goodbyes to his adoptive human father, Will. Rocket and the other apes moved out of Caesar's way as he walked to his favorite tree and soon started to stand upright like Caesar signifying they now saw him as their leader. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Firestorm Rocket is first seen when he spots a helicopter hovering above the trees. Caesar commands him to find him six apes and to report back to him. He soon returns with three orangutans, two chimpanzees and Koba the bonobo. Later in the book, he reports to Caesar, excited and shows him and his small band of apes a pile of food that he and his own band found. Caesar sees skins from some of the fruit on the ground and questions Rocket. He sheepishly tells him that he and his band had touched some of the food. Caesar, suspicious of this mysterious pile of food, has Koba inspect only to find a camera and several other devices. More To come... Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Time of Peace After ten years of living in peace in the Muir Woods Park, Rocket has helped his people build a thriving village where he has become a prominent figure amongst his fellow apes. His friendship with Caesar grown to the point that they view each other as honorary brothers and Rocket is permitted to be apart of the Ape Council and has retained his position as the second-in-command of the Ape Army. At some point, he met and married a chimpanzee named Tinker, the two would later go on to have a son named Ash who would later in life become a soldier in the Ape Army and later best friends with Caesar's son Blue Eyes (the prince of the Ape Colony). His Son's Accident Rocket is first seen during the hunting expedition and is seen in the forest later when his son, Ash is shot in the shoulder while out on a fishing trip with Blue Eyes. Forever protective over his son, Rocket is visibly shaken by this attack and looks as if he might attack the humans only for Caesar to tell him to calm down. After the humans put their guns away, Caesar and the others yell at them to leave the forest before having koba and his group follow them into the city. Later at night, during a council meeting, Rocket argues with Koba over what should be done about the attack on Ash. Rocket angrily tells him that he follows Caesar's orders and that he will follow whatever Caesar wants to do. Ape' Threat The next day, Rocket accompanies Caesar and the army out into the ruined city of San Francisco where Caesar personally threatens the humans with war if they enter the apes' territory again. With the message being given, the apes leave the city after returning the satchel of the teenager Alexander. A Truce After the truce is made between Caesar and Malcolm, Rocket confiscates the human's guns and smashes them to pieces with a rock passionately so that the weapons cannot be used against the apes or his son again. Rocket is present on horseback when Caesar leads the army his friends and sons to meet up with Malcolm at the dam and listens to Caesar and Maurice's conversation about Koba who hasn't accompanied them because Maurice believes he was still angry about Caesar letting the humans into the village and decided to go out hunting. Rocket then helps the other apes in saving Malcolm and his friends after they were trapped in debris by an explosion. He would later watch as Caesar and Koba have an argument which ends with the Ape King nearly beating the bonobo to death before stopping himself and forgiving him of his actions. Koba's Usurpation When Caesar and Blue Eyes are summoned by Cornelia's midwives, Rocket sits guard over the Ape Queen while Caesar, Blue Eyes and the baby sit nearby, devastated. When Koba has taken power after having shot Caesar, Rocket attempts to stand his ground but is put in a cage with Maurice and many others because of their loyalty to Caesar and is later freed by Blue Eyes who then takes them to the old Rodman House where Caesar is hiding out with Malcolm, Ellie and Alexander. Rocket is present when Caesar fights with Koba. Later on he and the others aid those caught in an explosion caused by Dreyfus. He and Blue Eyes would tend to a wounded Maurice (who had been shot by Koba) and watch as Caesar sends the bonobo falling to his death. Caesar's Command After Koba's defeat and death, Rocket is seen kneeling before Caesar with the other apes as they await the impending war with the humans. Personality Rise of the Planet of the Apes At first, Rocket appeared to be an arrogant, cruel, brutal, a ruthless thug and a cold bully who harassed and traumatized Caesar for no apparent reason. He enjoys power and shows immense pride in being in charge. After being overthrown by Caesar, Rocket became a worthwhile ally and his sense of pride diminished and because Caesar's takeover of what would become the ape colony, Rocket realized there was more to power than originally thought and that there was no need to be brutal and cruel to be a great leader. As shown in the first film Rocket was not very bright, this was proven to be true, when Caesar easily lured him out of his cage and into a trap, however after he was exposed to the ALZ-113, Rocket becomes intelligent and struggled with the idea. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Over the last decade, he has evolved greatly from the ruthless thug he once was as he shows a strong loyalty to only Caesar and isn't afraid to express it. Rocket is now recognized for his strength, intelligence which has allowed him to be a great mentor to the colony's younger generation of apes. As a father, Rocket would do anything to keep his son from harm as shown where he stood in the way of his son when discovering the humans. Due to his friendship with Caesar, Rocket takes his protective nature to a whole level and takes it upon himself to protect Blue Eyes, Caesar's eldest son from the wrath of ape-hating human Carver. Abilities *'Animal Strength:' Like all chimpanzees, Rocket is very powerful and strong. During the Ape Rebellion, he is shown to be strong enough to rips two doors off an animal control van with no effort. His strength would serve him well as he later became the second-in-command of the Ape Army and later go on to be well-known to all the young apes in the Ape Colony such as Caesar's son Blue Eyes. *'Animal Speed:' Like all chimpanzees Rocket is amazingly fast. When Caesar came to the shelter and ran away from rocket, the latter chased him up a tree easily catching up with him and quickly knocked him down. After Caesar and his ape army encounters Malcolm and his group, Rocket is already next to Malcolm's group without any of them noticing he was heading towards them, in order to protect Blue Eyes and Ash. *'Expert Combatant:' Due to him being the second-in-command of the ape army, as well as the former alpha of the San Bruno Primate Shelter, Rocket is a capable fighter. He was one of the primary fighters of the Battle of the Golden Gate Bridge and was shown defeating many police officers with no problems. *'Expert Leader:' As the former alpha of the San Bruno Primate Shelter, he has past experience in taking on a leadership role. As the second-in-command of Caesar's Ape Army, Rocket was able to lead many apes against the police force with no problem. All of these events proves that Rocket is a very capable leader. *'Advanced Intelligence: '''Rocket unknowingly inhaled the ALZ-113 when Caesar, in the dead of night, exposed it to the other apes while many of them were imprisoned in San Bruno. He was one of the first apes shown with green irises, a trait that is later passed on to his own son, Ash. It is unknown how much his advanced intelligence and IQ has increased. Because of his new-found intelligence, Rocket struggled with the idea of being intelligent. *'Sign Language:' Like Caesar, Rocket knows American Sign Language. He uses it as a way of communication, it is not known when he learned how to use this skill but it is possible that he learned it from Caesar or Maurice over the last decade. He was first seen using it during the rediscovery of humans saying "They shot my son!" and at the Ape Council's meeting, telling Koba "I follow Caesar". *'Speech:' Having inhaled the ALZ-113, Rocket has gained the ability of speech. This ability is later passed on to Rocket's son, Ash. In Dawn he only speaks through the use of Sign Language. So it is unknown how well his English is. Relationships Maurice Maurice is Rocket's close friend. Though they have little to no interaction, Rocket and Maurice seemed to be civil despite the fact that in their early days at the shelter Maurice originally thought Rocket was violent due to his brutality towards new inmate and future alpha Caesar. Maurice also viewed Rocket and the other apes as stupid due to their apparent lack of a brain. Over the next decade, after living in a colony of apes Rocket and Maurice have likely become closer than they were in captivity. Both hold a position in the Ape Council and hold a strong friendship with their leader Caesar, and it is likely that Ash, Rocket's son, is one of Maurice's students prompting a closer association. Maurice also showed concern for Rocket after the latter's son was accidentally shot by the human Carver. Caesar Caesar is Rocket's best friend, king and honorary brother. Rocket and Caesar's relationship didn't have a very good start at first. When Caesar first came to the shelter and tried to befriend him, the Alpha male started to bully him most likely for his domesticated life. After Caesar had befriended Buck the gorilla, Caesar was able to lure Rocket out of his cage into the play area, where he quickly overthrew him as Rocket knows he is no match against both Caesar and Buck. Rocket and Caesar were able to settle their differences and they become the most unlikeliest of friends with him serving as one of Caesar's key lieutenants during the ape rebellion and battle on the Golden Gate Bridge. Rocket ends up becoming Caesar's third best friend and loyal follower. Over the next ten years, Rocket and Caesar are still best friends with Rocket being Caesar's second-in-command. They have become closer as they are both fathers to teenage sons. Due to his relationship with Caesar, Rocket serves as an uncle to Caesar's two young sons while in return, Caesar serves as an uncle to his own son, Ash. Caesar also permits Rocket to have a place on the council. It is seen that Rocket is fiercely loyal to Caesar as seen when Koba questions Rocket's loyalty after his son is shot by accident and when Koba has Rocket locked up for his loyalty towards Caesar after the bonobo shoots the ape king. Koba Koba was Rocket's close friend turned enemy. Rocket and Koba had little interaction with each other, during the battle on the Golden Gate Bridge. Despite their limited interactions during and after the Battle on the Golden Gate Bridge, Rocket and Koba became friends. When Caesar asks Rocket to summon a group of apes to him in the early days in their quest to survive, Rocket finds Koba and takes him to Caesar with the other apes. Rocket was later injured after falling from a tree branch when a human named Corbin fired his gun. Koba then tackled Corbin to the ground and carried the injured Rocket up to a tree, thus saving Rocket's life. As the years go on, Rocket and Koba remain on good terms until Rocket's son, Ash is shot by accident by Carver. But this friendship quickly turns to bitterness as Rocket sides with Caesar during the crisis with the humans which results with Rocket, along with Maurice to get locked up in cages for this disloyalty. Also, Rocket's son, Ash is killed by Koba and it is likely that Rocket holds extreme hatred toward Koba for killing his son. Ash Ash was Rocket's teenage son. When Ash and Blue Eyes get cornered by Carver in the forest, Rocket jumps in to defend them with a spear as Rocket was very protective over his son. In the movie, no indication is given that Rocket knew of his son's death. In the DotPotA novelization, he does find out, though it is unknown how, and this causes him to turn against Koba. Blue Eyes Blue Eyes is the prince of the Ape Colony and Rocket's honorary nephew due to his close bond with Caesar. Having grown up with Ash, Rocket knows Blue Eyes well and serves as an uncle towards the young prince. This respect is well reciprocated on Blue Eyes' side as he always admire Rocket for his strength and skills. The pair are very close and both openly concerned when Cornelia, Blue Eyes' mother becomes sick. When Koba has Maurice and Rocket locked up in cages for their disloyalty to him, Blue Eyes expressed concern for their suffering on and begins to drift from Koba's side. He later frees them by sneaking into the city and ripping the cage door off its hinges and takes them back to the secretly alive and well Caesar. Milo Milo is the second son of Caesar and Cornelia, therefore another honorary nephew of Rocket. Rocket has not interacted with the infant but he must love him as much as he does the baby's older brother Blue Eyes. Buck Buck was a fellow inmate of Rocket while they were in captivity. Though they had very little interaction, Rocket feared Buck to begin with, believing that if he didn't do what he was told by Caesar, he'd get attacked by the gorilla who was now loyal to Caesar. Now afraid that Caesar had Buck on his side, he stepped down as Alpha, allowing Caesar to take his place. Later, rocket was seen standing on the top of a cable car with Buck, Caesar and Maurice, showing that he and Buck have become civil due to their loyalty to Caesar. Cornelia Cornelia is Rocket's old friend, former inmate and queen. Despite limited interaction, Rocket and Cornelia are close as they have watched each other's children grow up. Cornelia, being Caesar's wife, is like a sister to Rocket who in return is very protective over her as he sits with Caesar, Blue Eyes, and the baby when Cornelia is sick. Luca Luca is Rocket's good friend. Not much is known about their relationship as they barely have any interaction but it appears they hold some form of friendship as they are both members of the Ape Council and the army and both hold strong loyalty towards their king Caesar. Notes * Most of the other apes in the movie had significant names, and Rick Jaffa claimed on the DVD feature that Rocket was named in tribute to Norman Rockett, a set designer on the first movie. * An earlier version of the script differed in that Rocket's eyes begin to go green (a sign of intelligence) after having bitten Caesar during their initial confrontation. After Caesar and Rocket ''together escape the primate facility and visit both Will's house and the Gen-Sys lab, they use stolen scissors to share their blood with the other apes at the facility and thus pass on their viral intelligence. In this version of the script, Rocket dies on the Golden Gate Bridge after being shot by Dodge Landon, who was aiming for Caesar. ** As seen in one deleted scene, Rocket appeared to take Caeser's overpowering seriously at first and kept to himself inside his paddock, nursing his pride and refusing to exercise despite being doused by Dodge's water hose. This scene may explain the later scenario where Caesar gives Rocket a cookie and instructs him to hand them out. * Terry Notary, who played Rocket, had also worked on Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes in 2001, as a movement instructor and stunt coordinator on both films. He also played Bright Eyes. * Terry Notary played Rocket's motion capture role but (unlike the other ape actors) also did the vocal effects for Rocket, according to Rupert Wyatt on the director's commentary on the Blu-Ray version of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. * In an earlier version of the script, as confirmed by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver while being interviewed, Rocket was originally the film's antagonist but in the final film Rocket instead became one of Caesar's second-in-command. The other being Maurice. * Rocket was mistakenly described by Andy Serkis as a baboon, even though he is a chimpanzee and baboons are not apes, rather they are large monkeys. * Rocket is present in the first official still from Dawn. He is on Caesar's left. He also appears in the first trailer for the film as this is where the still is from. * In the final cut of Dawn, Rocket is seen fewer times than he was in Rise in which he played a bigger role. Trivia * Rocket is due to return in Dawn and will be played once again by Terry Notary. *According to an interview, it is said that Rocket will be Caesar's second-in-command but struggles with being intelligent. *Rocket has a son named Ash. *It is currently unknown who the mother of Ash is. *in the latest TV Spot it appears that Rocket along with Maurice are captured and put in a cage. *In the DotPotA movie, Rocket never verbally speaks. In the novelization, he does once. *Rocket, Maurice, Luca, and other apes who are loyal to Caesar and refuse to kill unarmed humans were caged and held prisoner by Koba. Image Gallery wetaRocket.jpg|Terry Notary as Rocket. ThumbnailCANOL0CK.jpg|Rocket picks on Caesar. International31.jpg International30.jpg|Greeting to Caesar. Rocketcell.jpg|Rocket in his cage. ThumbnailCAJKNV0O.jpg|Caesar, Rocket, Maurice and Buck. Rise of the Planet of the Apes19.jpg|Gen-Sys Escape. Weta28.jpg|Rocket with Buck, Maurice and Caesar. Rocket.jpg|Escape. Risesketch2.jpg|Koba, Rocket and Lucky art. Hail King Caesar.jpg|Caesar with Rocket (right) Off Rocket?.jpg|Rocket Poster (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes). Movies-dawn-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-01.jpg|Rocket with Caesar, Koba, Maurice, Blue Eyes and other apes. Dawn-of-the-Planet-of-the-Apes-1.jpg|Rocket with Maurice, Caesar and Blue Eyes on horses. Dawn-Of-The-Planet-Of-The-Apes-10.jpg|Rocket alongside Caesar. dawn-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-motion-capture.png|Terry Notary as Rocket. 10456815 668233836558206 1009701100726164742 n.jpg|Rocket looking tempted. Rocket with spear.png|Rocket protects his nephew and son from the humans. Caesar & Maurice.png|Rocket with Blue Eyes and Maurice Caesar, Rocket, Blue-Eyes, & Infant with Ill Cornelia.png|Rocket at Cornelia's side. Blue-Eyes with Rocket, Stoned & Maurice.jpg|Rocket with Blue Eyes, Maurice and Luca as they watch Caesar's fight with Koba. Rocket's response.png Blue Eyes, Grey, Koba, Luca & Rocket stand over Malcolm.png Rocket helps Malcolm & his group.png Ash watches Rocket smash gun.png Caesar's followers.jpg|Rocket held prisoner along with others that still follow Caesar. 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